A New Beginning
by Rinny2
Summary: Sequel to Normal or Something Like It. The adventure continues for the Scoobies in this exciting new installment! Please read Normal or Something Like It first in order to truly understand what is going on!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**a/n:** Yes I am _finally_ back with a second installment to my Buffy series which started with Normal or Something Like It. You really should read the previous metioned story before you read this because you won't have ANY idea what is going on in this one. For those loyal readers who have been reading my fiction from the beginning, thank you so much for all of your support! This story is dedicated to you!

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It was the first time in awhile she had a city all to herself to protect. It was lonely, but she was used to being alone. Noisy football fans drove through the streets honking their horns. "Guess the Brown's actually won a game." She chuckled. A scuffle from a nearby alley caught her attention. The soft padding of her sneakers on the sidewalk was overpowered by the blaring of horns. Turning the corner she saw three vampires attacking two teenagers who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen. "Well that's a good way to stop teen drunk drivers, killem before they can get a license. Good idea boys." She quipped. Noticing that the vampires weren't paying attention to them the kids quickly scrambled out of the alley.

"Slayer." Said the tallest one she dubbed Big Ugly in her head.

"We haven't had much to eat lately because of you. You can't just come into our town like this." The chubby medium sized one growled.

"Yeah." The scrawny one countered. 'He had to have been a computer geek in his life.' She thought to herself.

"And who is exactly going to make me leave? Definitely not pocket-protector here." She said motioning at the skinny boy.

The vampire growled and lunged at the girl. With one swift movement she put a wooden stake between her and the vampire, piercing his heart. Its mouth gaped open to scream but was silenced when it burst into dust.

The remaining vampires took off before they met the same fate. "We need to find a new place where there are lots of people and no slayer." She heard Big Ugly say.

"I hear L.A. is nice this time of year." Chubby replied as they scaled a fence and disappeared out of sight.

"Good luck staying alive there." Faith laughed to herself and proceeded to leave the damp alley.

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The bright lights of Los Angeles, California could effortlessly confuse a tourist of believing it was day time, however when night truly comes, the bright lights won't save unsuspecting prey. The nightly club activities, bar fights, and all out crime of the city easily covered up all the massive injuries and murders that happened by means other than human. The streets of L.A. were full of runaway teenagers and though she was no longer of high school age, the young woman stalking the streets blended in quite nicely.

She walked past the grand opening of a new night club owned by some big-shot celebrity. She briefly envied their obliviousness; watching them all stand and smile for cameras while two blocks away some poor unsuspecting victim was probably getting their blood used for breakfast. That's why she was around. So they could have their fun. As she made her way onto another city block she saw a quick glimpse of a guy around her age in extremely hideous clothing leading a young woman down a half street. She remembered what Buffy had said about out of date outfits. Picking up her pace, she began to run down the uneven pavement, heels clicking with each footfall. When she reached the street and turned the corner she saw the girl pinned against the wall with vampire teeth beginning to penetrate the nape of her neck.

She quickly charged at them, grabbing the vampire and throwing him into the opposite wall. Small drops of blood were smeared on the vampire's mouth causing her to curse to herself for not being fast enough. She heard the girl whimpering as she ran out of the half street and began yelling for help. With her mind on other things the vampire caught her off balance and knocked her back first into the wall. She slid down wincing in pain. Brick definitely didn't do anything good for her spinal column. Standing up she regained her stance and quickly block an on coming punch from her adversary. She balled up her fist and connected with the vampires face. The vamp was knocked back slightly but bounced back quickly.

She went to swing again but it caught her arm and swung it around her back, placing a choke hold on her neck. She could feel the vampire breathing on her neck from behind her. With all her strength she threw her head back colliding with the vampires head. Stamping on its foot caused the creature to loosen its grip on her. She used the opportunity to free her one arm, grabbing the vampire's arm that was around her neck and using her full power to flip the vampire over her and onto the ground. She reached to her pocket for a stake.

"Damn." She whispered to herself. The stake must have fallen out during the fight. Seeing a wooden box next to the now stirring creature she kicked it causing it to shatter into shards of wood. "Happy Birthday to me." She said quickly picking up one of the larger shards and implanting it into the vampire's chest. When the creature finally turned to dust she took a deep breath and exited the half street.

"Now he's going to make me train for 2 more hours on top of the 2 already." Erin said to the busy streets of L.A. as she headed back to the hotel.

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Her feet pounded the ground as she quickened her pace. The young girl had no idea what was following her, but she could feel it getting closer. She was only a few blocks from home and overlooked all the strange killings that happen in Sunnydale, California after nightfall.

Making the mistake of glancing back her foot caught in a tree root, sending her face first to the ground. She groaned feeling blood trickle from her nose. Turning over she was just in time to see the creature lunge at her, its grotesque face illuminated by the pale moonlight. She trembled, trying to move backwards as it grabbed her with incredible strength. It opened its mouth showing two sharp teeth as it tilted her head exposing her neck. She closed her eyes preparing for pain when she suddenly felt its weight lifted from her.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to bite?" Came a voice as the girl watched the creature be thrown ten feet away. A petite blonde girl now stood in front of her. "Run!" The girl said. She didn't have to be told twice. Getting off the ground she took off, this time, not looking back.

"Slayer." The vampire sneered. "You lost me my dinner."

She smirked pulling a stake from her back pocket. "Sorry about that. How bout I give you some nice fiber?"

She moved in connecting her right fist with the vamps jaw. There was a crack, the sound of its jaw breaking, but the creature paid no attention. It immediately returned the favor of fist to face, knocking the slayer off balance. She regained composure executing a punch combo then flipping the vampire over her shoulder. With one swift movement she bent to the ground inserting the stake in the vamps chest. Pulling the stake out she stood up and watched her adversary turn to dust.

"Vampire's 0 Buffy 1 million." She smiled, sliding the stake in her pocket and turned towards the direction of home.

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**a/n: Please review everyone! You know I truly appreciate hearing what you have to say. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!**


	2. Sacred Duty

**Chapter 1: Sacred Duty**

The slightly musty smell of the Hyperion Hotel greeted her nose as she walked in quickly placing her hand on her forehead trying to wipe away the blood from her cut. She had hoped that he wouldn't be there when she got back so she could clean up but when she arrived outside the building she could sense him. She saw him walk out of his office to see who had entered the building. He frowned as he scanned her over. She must not have gotten all the blood off. "You're hurt." He said worryingly as he walked over to her.

"I'm fine, just a cut, no biggie." She said brushing it off.

"Oh, you're back! Great! Time for a report." Came a voice from behind him.

Erin frowned and peeked around her boyfriend's shoulders to see the newly reinstated watcher pull out a notebook. "Can I kill him please?" She said smiling up at the tall dark and handsome man standing in front of her.

"As far as I can tell he's not evil but if that changes, I'll let you know." Angel chuckled.

"I insist that you stop this wayward nonsense at once and be proud of your duty." Wesley said in a very British tone.

"I do take it serious Wes. I'm alive, note the seriousness." She responded.

"You have a sacred duty Erin! Into every generation a slayer is born, one girl in all the world. . ." Wesley began the mantra.

"Until modern medicine screwed up by saving people and now there are three." Erin added.

"Be that as it may, I am your watcher and as such I am entitled to a report." Wesley said.

"Fine British man I give." She said flopping down on the nearest comfy chair and proceeded to tell him about her patrol.

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It still seemed weird for her to sometimes not climb up and go through the window to get to her room. Sometimes she still felt like she was hiding her identity from her family. She opened the door quietly, hung up her coat and turned to see her husband fast asleep in front of the TV. She smiled. When she found out she was the slayer, she never believed she would live long enough to be married. But with the help of Xander and the magic of Willow, here she was, living and breathing.

And her husband, well, if you asked her seven years ago who she was going to marry, he would have been the last name on her list. Their first meeting isn't exactly romantic, but it is memorable. After all, he did tell her he was going to kill her.

She turned towards the kitchen and saw her watcher, though it was late, sitting wide awake rubbing his eyes and reading through several old and musty looking books. "Look at you being all 24-7 watcher." Buffy said flopping down on a chair across from him.

"Oh Buffy, I didn't hear you come in." Giles replied placing his glasses correctly back onto his face.

"That's me; I'm one with the stealth." She teased smiling at him. After everything that had gone down in the previous months Giles decided to completely move back to the states, and until he finds himself a house Buffy told him he was welcome to stay there. She liked having him around anyway. It was like she was somehow fulfilling the absence of her father throughout most of her life with the presence on her Watcher. After all, she was more of a father to her than her real father ever was. "So what big bad are we looking up this week?" She asked.

"The taccaro demon. There have been a rash amounts of kidnappings lately and I suspect it isn't a human job." He explained.

"Okay so what exactly does this tock demon do?" Buffy asked.

"Taccaro demon," Giles corrected before continuing. "It feeds on young children and youth, preferably anyone under the age of 16. The children are sometimes kidnapped in groups depending on how many demons there are. They feed on the cavity and then the females lay their eggs inside the remaining carcass."

"Ugh." Buffy replied giving her 'that's disgusting' face. "Okay so what do we do. How do we kill it?"

"That's the problem. No one knows. It has never been done. In 1794 a slayer named Adriana hunted down a pack of taccaros and attempted to kill them. Unfortunately she did not survive the fight and her watcher died not too soon after so the diaries are very vague." Giles frowned looking down at the battered book of which Buffy assumed was the watchers diary for Adriana.

"Okay so 21st century now Giles. Fire, guns, explosions, we can take care of this thing." She insisted.

"It's not that simple Buffy. These demons are much stronger than most of the demons you have ever come across. Even more so, their bite paralyzes the victim almost instantly." She hadn't seen him this worried since the first came to town, and while he was more worried about that, this seemed to rank up there with some of the other things they had faced in the past.

"So what are we gonna do?" Buffy asked.

"Call in reinforcements." Giles began but as if on cue the theme song from Halloween sounded from the pocket of Buffy's jeans. "I don't know why you have such a ridiculous ring tone." He remarked.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him childishly and answered her cell phone. "Hey!" There were a few moments of silence and Buffy broke out into laughter. "Erin wants to know if it's against the handbook to kill your watcher." She said to Giles whose eyes brightened as he reached for the phone and pulled it out of her hands.

"Erin it's Giles, let me speak to Wesley please." He insisted.

* * *

It was weird being back in Sunnydale for her. After all, she rushed out of town without a second thought after they made it through the fight that was Graduation. Being with him, well, that was even stranger. They were past their days of making out in the janitor's closet, yet their bickering seemed to be a permanent part of their relationship. But she was happy and it was a normal relationship, which she hadn't been in since, well, the last time she was with him. She looked around their apartment and smiled. This was how she had imagined her life, not fighting demons and becoming a higher being. As if on cue, her cell phone went off. She looked at the caller id and smiled slightly.

"Hey." She said into the receiver.

"Hey Cordy. We got a situation and Giles wants everyone here asap. Is Xander there? He's not answering his phone." Came Buffy's voice through the receiver.

"He's at the Bronze with Willow, Oz's band is playing tonight." She looked at her watch and then spoke. "They should be on their way soon. I'll swing by and get them."

"Thanks Cordy." There was a click on the other end and Cordelia, in turn flipped her phone shut.

Cordelia Chase sighed. "I forgot having a normal life and living in Sunnydale is completely impossible." She said to the air as she grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

* * *

The two "groupies" sat outside the Bronze next to a van with an open trunk. They watched as the band began loading things in but stayed seated.

"Okay so my turn. Ummmmm, okay, 'He who walks behind the rows demands it'". The boy said.

The girl cocked her head to the side trying to think.

"Children of the Corn." Said the girl's boyfriend as he walked by.

"Oh come on Xander! Shouldn't we stick to movies that were actually decent?" Willow protested.

He shook his head. "Come on Will, we've been playing this game for years and we never set ground rules. Just go, it's your turn."

"Fine." She said. After a moment of thinking she spoke. "They're heeeeeeeere."

"Do I need to dignify that with an answer!" He exclaimed.

Their game was interrupted by the sound of a familiar car. They all looked up as Oz loaded the last amp into his van.

Cordelia rolled down the window and stuck her head out. "Hey guys, Buffy just called, we're having a mee- party, a party at her house. Some L.A. people are coming too." She said seeing that Oz's band mates were still out there.

"Huh?" Xander said. Then it suddenly hit him. "Oooooo those friends. We haven't seen them in a few months and it's never a good time."

"Party? Sweet Oz, we can play another gig!" Devin said to him.

"Actually, it's not really a party it's more of a get together of old colleagues of mine." Cordelia said to the boy she had once chased after.

"Oh well that's cool. See you Friday Oz for practice right?" The lead singer asked.

"Yeah man, see ya." Oz replied simply.

Xander quickly jumped into the passenger side of his girlfriend's car while Willow did the same with Oz's car. He leaned over and kissed his brunette on the cheek. "Wonder who's trying to end the world this time."

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**a/n:** Please review guys! I wanna know what you're thinking. 


	3. Paling in Comparison

**Chapter 2 : Paling in Comparison**

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"You're nervous." Angel observed of his son.

"I haven't seen her in months. What if she doesn't even remember me?" Connor shifted uncomfortably in the backseat of Angel's car, trying not to knock over the pile of books that lay between himself and Wesley.

"It's no big deal if she doesn't I mean, she has the sexual drive and frustration of 10 teenage boys." Erin laughed, squeezing her boyfriend's hand that was under hers and on the clutch.

"I'm not talking about Faith." Connor shot back at her.

She looked at Angel and mouthed 'Dawn'. He nodded his head yes and she smiled slightly. Though he was Angel's son, she wasn't sure how much she trusted him to be with a friend, let alone someone she considered family.

"Fascinating." Wesley said outloud. "Erin, take a book and start some research."

Erin groaned. "Wesley, you're my watcher, you do the researching, I keep mankind safe."

Wesley ignored the girl and reached up front plopping three books in her lap.

"We're almost there." Angel stated.

"Good. Buffy and I can go patrolling, Wesley and Giles can do the research, and the world of the vampire slayers can be in balance again." Erin shut the book she had been grazing through and a puff of dust blew at her face.

Angel laughed at her but was quickly silenced when he saw a demon walk into the gates of the Sunnydale Cemetary. "Something is definitely going down Wes. That was a Kiato demon."

"A son of the inferno in Sunnydale?" The watcher responded.

"Come again?" Erin looked over to Angel with a confused look.

"Kiato demons are very strong, very powerful demons. They can only be killed by submersing them in water for a long period of time. Any use of fire on the Kiato makes it ten times stronger. If you behead one, another head grows in it's place." Wesley explained.

"They're very rare on earth. I've only ever seen one one time." Angel stated.

"When was that?" Erin asked.

"When I was in hell." He responded solemnly.

* * *

"Is the jailbird coming too? " Dawn asked flopping down on a chair next to Giles and picking up the nearest book.

Giles took a few seconds to react to what was said, his mind clearly focused on the research at hand. "Um, Buffy has been trying to contact her however there has been no such luck as of yet."

"Plus, we don't know exactly what we're dealing with yet. No need to call in the entire calvary." Buffy stated.

There was a rustling from the family room and the sound of footsteps heading down the hall. A bleachblonde head peaked in on the three that were congregated around the table. "Mouth of hell going to open again?" Spike asked looking at the pile of books. He looked and Giles and then Buffy. "Oh bloody hell."

Before anyone could begin to explain the situation there was a rustling of a key and the front door swung open. The group of four sitting at the table became eight as Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia walked in.

"Alright G-man what's going on?" Xander asked flopping down on a chair next to the watcher.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Giles exclaimed

"Not sure. My brain takes a long time for things to register. Did anyone do a donut run?" The only 'normal' member of the Scoobies asked.

"ADD much Xand?" Dawn laughed at the man she viewed as her older brother.

"What's the big bad Giles?" Willow took a pile of books to begin her part of the research.

"I'd much rather wait and tell you once everyone gets here." Rupert responded.

"Others?" Spike interjected.

Before anyone could speak the sound of a car parking and doors slamming echoed in the quiet Sunnydale night. Muffled voices came from behind the front door.

"You can't just go in. It's very unpropper." A male voice said.

"It's not like I'm breaking and entering; I have a key." The female voice said sounding exasperated. Once again the front door swung open and a brown haired girl in jeans, black boots, and a light purple t-shirt walked in. "Hi guys." She smiled.

"Erin!" Spike exclaimed jumping from the table and running over to his niece. As he had her wrapped in his, arms three men came walking in behind her. "Peaches." Spike said at the sight of Angel.

"Spike." Angel said nodding at him.

"This must be bad if they're here." Anya said as she and Andrew walked in from the kitchen.

"Always one with the warm welcomes An, aren't you." Xander shook his head at his ex fiancé.

"It's good to see everyone." Erin said walking in the room with Spike and Angel on either side of her.

Wesley came bustling in and dropped the large pile of books he had on the table. "Thanks for the help Erin."

"Oh come on. We've been over this. You research, I slay. Why would I ever want to take out of your fun by carrying the books for you?" His slayer laughed at him as she took Spike's seat and sat next to Buffy.

"Hey Connor." Cordelia said acknowledging the silent member of the group.

He smiled slightly. "Cordy."

"Alright, now that we're all here, lets get down the business." Giles started.

"Actually, before we get into everything Rupert, I thought it would be prudent to make you aware of what we encountered on our way here." Wesley said.

Giles looked at the younger watcher. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Just saw a big nasty on the way here." Erin answered.

"Kiato demon." Angel added as he made his way over behind his girlfriend's chair and leaned against the wall.

"Son of the inferno." Giles took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes from the lack of sleep.

"What does this mean Giles?" Buffy asked.

"What we dealt with last year, it pales in comparison with what lies ahead. Angel's sighting of a Kiato demon strengthens my research." Giles stated.

"So what are we dealing with here Giles? Rain of toads coming soon?" Xander questioned.

"I have reason to believe," Giles paused and looked around the room. His eyes then focused to Buffy. "that we are dealing with Lucifer himself."

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**A/N:** Alrighty so what do you think? PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!! More reviewsfaster writing 


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